1OO years have passed since Mankind revolted and slew the Sorcerer
Kings of old… Now, the survivors of seven kingdoms begin to rebuild, placing
new lives and hopes on the ashes of old. However, even as life continues, an
ancient and forgotten evil stirs awaiting its moment to strike against mankind.

Join a war-torn land where the struggle for
survival continues as new empires arise to impose their will upon the masses.
Vicious warlords fight to control territories carved out of fallen Kingdoms.
Imposing magicians emerge claiming the legacy of the Sorcerer Kings. High
Priests of long forgotten gods and goddesses amass wealth in the name of divine
right while Warrior-priests, devoted to a banished god, patrol the lands
bringing justice to people abandoned by their rulers.

Within these pages is a detailed
post-apocalyptic fantasy setting taking you through an ancient realm that is
fighting for its survival and its humanity. Seek your fortune or meet your fate
in the burning deserts of the once lush and vibrant land of Vuul, or travel to
the humid jungles of Najambi to face the tribes of the Man-Apes and their
brutal sacrificial rituals.

Tales From
the Fallen Empire is a post
apocalyptic swords & sorcery setting created for use
with the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG by
Goodman Games. It introduces new classes, an alternate way to handle the
0 level character funnel, setting inspired spells, new optional rules for
swords & sorcery play and more. Tighten the straps on your sandals,
grab your weapon, and head forth into a land of trouble and turmoil.
Adventure awaits those foolhardy to enter the wastelands or for those who
fear not the unknown. Pledge today to begin the adventure in the fragments of
the Fallen Empire.

I’m one of the writers slated to contribute to the book and
your funding means you keep me working! I’d be ever so grateful if you stopped by
the Kickstarter
page, gave the project a look, and help make Tales
From the Fallen Empire a reality.

This year's module features two adventures, plus the start of our Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition!

The first adventure is The Undulating Corruption, a level 5 scenario by Michael Curtis. The characters learn of a purported Crucible that can cure their wizard's corruption...but reaching this cure is not easy!

The second adventure is The Jeweler That Dealt in Stardust, a level 3 scenario by Harley Stroh. A jeweler and fence has gone missing, and his house of jewels now sits empty. Surely a cunning thief could make his way inside to steal the unguarded riches?

Rounding out the two adventures are full details on the Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition. The Free RPG Day adventure booklet contains The Mystery Map -- a partially complete map. In the Mystery Map Adventure Design Competition, your job is to complete the map and pitch us on the 5,000-word adventure you would write to accompany it. A panel of distinguished judges will decide on the winner, who will receive a contract for $1,000 to write his adventure.

As always, our Free RPG Day module will premiere in participating retail stores, then be available for purchase online (as print or PDF) approximately 1-2 weeks after the event.

The second item is for those happy few playing in either one of the sessions of DCC RPG I'm running this year at NTRPGCon. If you are playing (or hoping to sneak into the game) and own your own set of "Zocchi Dice" (d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24,and d30), please bring them! I'll have a set of "table dice" for all to share, but I know people can be...peculiar...about sharing dice and I don't want "out of game" violence breaking out at my table!

Friday, May 25, 2012

I've been privy to the D&D Next playtest notes for a few months now, but since they're public, I can say finally what my ongoing impression of the new rules is:

D&D Next reads like somebody's campaign house rules that they've been assembling over the past few decades, cherry-picking from each edition things they like and discarding what they don't. That doesn't make it a bad thing, but you may already be playing D&D Next and not know it. Only time will tell whether the customer base wants to play the "official" house rules or not.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

So apparently it is now possible to record your Google+ Hangout sessions and completely scuttle any chance you might have for public office. A hearty big thanks goes out to Nicholas Mizer and David Brawley for not only allowing me to join in on their Stonehell hijinks (although not in this session), but for recording their exploits and posting it for all to see. Maybe once I get a real internet connection again, I can stop by and play some time.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Regular readers will remember that I hinted at (well, OK, blatantly plugged) the fact that I've written a new game for Goblinoid Games using the Pacesetter System. As of today, the playtest document is now open to Labyrinth Lord Society members. If you want to get in on the action, you'll need to sign certain documents writ in the burning blood of Orcus and become a Labyrinth Lord Society member.

The following except is from the email that went around to Society members this morning. If it piques your interest, why not go to the LLS page and sign up!

I'm looking for playtesters for a new Pacesetter System game developed by Michael Curtis. The genre is urban fantasy, particularly of the dark urban magic variety.

Playtesters will receive credit in the book and free PDFs of the final release.

In order to be a playtester you need to have a currently active gaming group willing to play, and be willing to commit to playing three sessions before September 1st. I would also ask that the GM submit a playtest report, briefly describing your experience running the game and any comments by the players. Ideally you will already have played similar games like TIMEMASTER, ROTWORLD, SANDMAN, etc., but this is not mandatory.

I'm really excited about this game! I think Michael Curtis has done a great job with it.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Sure, everyone has their own iconic fantasy illo for D&D (often with the name Trampier, Otus, or Elmore attached), but so few people talk about what they picture when other RPGs come to mind. I first saw "Ward 13" in the 4th edition of CoC and I've never been able to shake it. For me, its appeal is that this is one of those pictures that begs the questions of the viewer, "What the holy hell is going on here and how did it come to BE?!" I found a few Call of Cthulhu illustrations over the years that have the same effect, but this is my first. And you never forget your first.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

More scavenged material regarding the October Country setting from my other blog. I've gone from "working on a book" to "planning on working on a book once I finish Stonehell 2, but the October Country material still looms large in my head.

I’m working on a book that brings detail to a section of the October Country known as Snakewater Swamp. It’s been a lot of fun and is helping me to focus on certain systems I want to implement in the game and to flesh out the world in greater detail. I won’t say much more in the meantime.

Like the rest of the October Country, the wildlife found in Snakewater is largely of my own creation. For various climatic reasons, gators aren’t nearly as common as they are on Earth, but that doesn’t mean the swamps are free of large, aquatic predators. The swamp shark fits that bill wonderfully and has the pedigree of being inspired by the late-night, Sci-Fi channel cheapy movie of the same name. If you’re going to watch crap, you might as well make the best of it.

Swamp sharks are a species of shark that has adapted to the brackish and freshwater conditions found in coastal marshes. Their adaptations allow them to venture further into the headwaters of coastal rivers and bayous and many have begun to use these areas as nurseries for the pups. Full grown swamp sharks range in 8 to 11 feet in length and can weigh up to 700 lbs. Skin tones are brownish-gray to dark green, giving them natural camouflage in the muddy waters of the swamp. Swamp sharks are usually solitary predators (85%) but are occasionally encountered in pairs (15% chance). They attack by rushing their prey from concealment, biting their victim to shear off flesh, and then move past their prey to devour the mouthful of meat. They turn and make another pass two or three rounds later.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Forgive the dearth of posts here for the last two weeks. As
you might imagine, things are very hectic around these parts as I settle into a
new life and new job. Despite the distractions, I’m still busy at work on
various gaming-related projects and even managed to finish up a short one today.
With a few moments to spare before I consider heading off to the Land of Nod
(not the blog or fanzine, but the metaphorical place of dreams), I thought I’d
bring you all up to speed on things.

I’ve finally managed to unpack and get settled into the new
apartment. Unfortunately, without much time between accepting the position and
my first day of work, I didn’t have a lot of lead time to find a place to live.
The result is that I’m living in a much smaller space than I had hoped. It’s
not a studio or what they laughing call an “efficiency apartment” (read: “motel
room without the conveniences of an actual motel”), but it is a bit cramped,
especially for the archivist and gamer whose library is one of the reasons
people usually only help me move once.

The upside is that the place does have its charm. It was
originally a large barn built in the 1880s that’s since been renovated and
diced up into apartments. I have lots of old exposed wood beams and floors, as
well as a pair of stained glass windows that look into the bedroom and what I’m
calling the “reading and writing nook.” I can see the Wallkill River and its
cataracts from my window and aside from the Mysterious Thing with Heavy Feet
that Lives Overhead, my fellow residents are friendly, yet discreet. Being on
the second floor, my place also comes delightfully equipped with a Superhero
Emergency Escape Hatch, which is a fire exit leading to a shaft containing a
ladder running down to the ground floor, located directly off of my bedroom.
I’m contemplating starting a life of crime just so I can utilize it when the
S.W.A.T. team starts breaking down the front door. When time allows, I’ll post
some pictures of my new headquarters and you’re all invited to drop by for a
delve into Stonehell the next time you’re in the neighborhood.

Speaking of Stonehell, work continues on the sequel and my
determination to finish it and get it out by year’s end remains unabated. My
work schedule and the whole process of relocating and unpacking have cut into
the time I’d like to be writing the manuscript, but I’ve taken to getting up an
hour early to get some design work accomplished before I start my day. I’m
currently working on a quadrant on the 7th level called “The
Welchers’ Halls” for reasons that will become apparent once you see what lies
to the south of this section.

Those of you who contributed to the “Help Mike Relocate to
the Wilderness Where He Belongs” Fund will all receive a special mention when
the book comes out, as promised. I’m really dumbfounded by the contributions
some of you made and am in awe that you were willing to part with your
hard-earned cash to help out some guy who writes about monsters, magic, and
other dubious pursuits, one many of you have never even met. Those funds were a
real life-saver this week when I was hit with some unexpected bills above and
beyond the astronomical cost of renting a Penske truck and filling that beast
with gas. The alternator went on my car and I got hit with another $100+ bill
for another repair. Without that extra money, I’d be scared spitless regarding
how I would survive until my first paycheck clears. So although I’ve already
thanked you all in email, let me do so again: “Thank you, thank you, thank you
very much!”

With such limited space to live in, I had to leave the
majority of my gaming collection in storage back on Long Island, but I’m trying
to view that as a feature, not a bug. Aside from the B/X books, Stonehell I,
and the Labyrinth Lord rulebook, I just have my 1st edition (2nd
printing) Call of Cthulhu boxed set and my complete run of Wraith:
The Oblivion (which got loaded onto the truck when I wasn’t looking).
Call of Cthulhu is really , well “calling” to me right now, and I’m very
tempted to make that the next campaign I run once I find my place here and a
new gaming group. If I were to do so, I’d take the “Out of
the Box” approach, using just the materials provided in the boxed set and
pretending nothing else was ever written for the game. That idea really has my
head whirling with possibilities.

The other reason that Call of Cthulhu is enticing me is
that I’m now living in the real Wildwyck County. The series I’m writing for
Fight On! is based on the landscape, history, and my own experiences in Ulster
County as an undergraduate. Now that I’m an actual resident of Wildwyck, I’m
hoping to tap into the rich history and atmosphere that pervades the country
just outside my front door and make that series even better. I’m planning on
watching the full moon rise tonight and brainstorm.

I made the initial efforts to locate a gaming group this
week, joining a local Meetup group based in the area, but I’m not sure how
that’s going to pan out just yet. So again, if you’re one of my readers and
want the dubious honor of having me at your table, feel free to contact me at
the email listed to the right. Unfortunately, my internet connection is less
than efficient, meaning I won’t have the option of participating in FLAILSNAILS
games for the foreseeable future, making me even more determined to find a
local face-to-face group as understanding and tolerant of my penchant for
weirdness as my last one.

Before I go, I want to remind you all once again that even
though my postings may be reduced, my participation in the hobby is not. Some
of you lucky bastards have already gotten their hands on Goodman Games’ new Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG
and you’ll notice my name in that book’s credits. I did some of the spells for
it and there’s one I’m most proud off. A No-Prize goes to the first one to
guess which spell that is. Goblinoid
Games will be releasing
another game I designed using the Action Table System to Labyrinth Lord Society
members in the near future and I hope you card-carrying members download it,
give it a whirl, and let me know what you think. I charted a course into Bat
Country when writing it and I hope that comes through in the final product.

In still other design news, I’m one of the contributing
authors to The Secret Fire’s next supplement, Fragment
I: The Way of Tree, Shadow & Flame. One of my co-designers on that book
is an up-and-coming young lad who I think has a lot of potential, and I’m sure
you’ll be hearing the name” Eddie Greenwood” again in the future.

Lastly, a reminder that I’ll be down in Texas for NTRPGCon
to run a few DCC games (“Emirikol Must Die!,” a convention variant of my
forthcoming Emirikol Was
Framed! adventure from Goodman Games, as well as a converted (and
possibly perverted) version of my first OSR release, “The Fane of St. Toad.” One of
those sessions may have a secret special guest, but I’m not telling who or
when. There’s also talk of Tim Kask and I doing a workshop on “Gonzo Gaming”
with other guests, but that’s still being hashed out as far as I know. After
getting to know and play with Tim at Gary Con, doing a seminar with him would
be a great pleasure. One that would only be eclipsed if Dan Proctor and I win
this year’s Three Castles Award for Realms
of Crawling Chaos.

Oh, one more thing: this year’s Goodman Games’ Free RPG Day
release features two adventures and another special treat. Those adventures
were written by the most excellent Harley Stroh and I. My home group had a
blast playtesting my contribution, even if things didn’t turn out so well for one
of the PCs.

OK, I’m done. Off to howl at the moon a bit before bed.
Thank you all again for the well-wishes, support (both verbal, financial, and
professional), and camaraderie you’ve provided me since I first dipped my toe
into both the OSR and the industry. I couldn’t have done it without you.

Who's to Blame

Despite having never been a professional adventurer, Michael Curtis has nonetheless deciphered cryptic writings, handled ancient maps and texts, ridden both a camel and an elephant, fallen off a mountain, participated in a mystical rite, and discovered the resting places of lost treasures. He can be contacted at poleandrope @ gmaildotcom